Return of an old friend
by Rangerfan58
Summary: main summary is inside but title might also give it away. profile explains how i choose to rate things and let me know if i need to up rating at any time
1. Chapter 1

_What you recognize I don't own and this is after Rescue Fire finished. I got this based off of Wikipedia that stated that a character returned in a live stage show that I never saw thoughts are italics. It's been four years since Obuchi aka Daen sacrificed himself with a Final Rescue that destroyed the original Neo Terror base, since that time Rescue Fire fought their enemy and separated temporarily while Rescue Force is now based in Europe. A person though was discovered with amnesia those four years previously and nothing has helped them regain their memories, but something is about to occur that will allow them to remember their past and in a way decide their future. Oh and an item is going to be mentioned on a regular basis that is important enough to the plot line that the mention is needed on occasion as a reminder of a condition but they are CRITICAL in the beginning and later in the story_

Things were quiet at the moment in a certain building with several people simply eating a meal when all of a sudden alarms started going off and there was a scramble of activity while people rushed to grab protective gear and get into their vehicles heading off to a location to do their job as firefighters and then the Captain spoke to one member and tossed something to them while they were speaking to that specific firefighter

"Akeshi, here"

Akeshi caught what was tossed to him with practiced ease

"Thanks Cap"

Akeshi then put what was tossed to him over his eyes because what the Captain had tossed him was prescription sunglasses. Akeshi's eyes were sensitive to sunlight and despite everything the eye doctors did they couldn't cure the sensitivity simply lessen it to a point where he could function with prescription sunglasses so Akeshi simply had to wear the sunglasses whenever he was out during the day and his job during training had found ways to work around his disability and also made exceptions for him. The reason his Captain held onto the glasses unless they were heading out was because of an incident early on when he was first assigned to the station and it was decided by mutual agreement that the Captain would hold onto his sunglasses until they were needed either because they were heading off to fight a fire or he was heading home for the day after a night shift. Once they arrived at the fire they split up into teams and started the fight and it was intense, they could only keep it contained until backup arrived and even then the fire still lasted for two hours but finally the fire was out and all that was left was staying for a bit to make sure it stayed out, meanwhile all of them re-hydrated

"That was a big one"

"Be glad it wasn't a chemical fire this time"

"Oh yeah that would have been worse, what would have happened with your vision?"

"Things would have been slightly blurry even with the glasses but I would still be able to function, it's only sunlight that's the real problem"

"How you passed all the tests required for this job is beyond me sometimes but then I see you do something and I see why you passed"

(Sighs) "I just wish I remembered who I was, a lot of what I did at the academy seemed instinctive which is part of the reason why I passed"

"Wait, you went by instinct in some instances?"

"Yeah, it was like my body just knew what to do, like I had done the same thing before I got amnesia"

"That's weird"

"Exactly, unfortunately we have no answers as to why it is that way so it will just have to remain a mystery until further notice, if I ever regain my memories maybe we'll understand why but until then all we have are questions"

Two weeks later things were going okay when suddenly the fire became too much because of the fact that there was yet another new group out to take over the world starting with Japan and they caused an Extreme disaster and Extreme fire at the same time plus had foot soldiers as well

"Get that line open and take care of the left side"

"Right"

That's when things became too much and they needed backup and when Akeshi saw the foot soldiers all of a sudden he _Remembered_ who he was. Akeshi remembered being part of Rescue Force as Obuchi and then becoming Daen and causing Extreme Disasters, he also remembered the day he regained his Rescue Soul and what had happened that day. The reason he got amnesia that day wasn't just because of how far he fell into the ocean but also because of the fact that he essentially wanted to forget what he had done as Daen and so as a means of protecting him from what he wouldn't have been able to cope with combined with his injuries his mind allowed him to forget who he was until he had healed, unfortunately the amnesia was so complete he would need a trigger to remember who he was and he remembered everything, from being part of Rescue Force to becoming Daen and how he had at the end become a Rescue Force member one last time remembering his Rescue Soul remembering how much he loved Rescue before the accident that would have him declared dead for so long. As soon as he saw the foot soldiers he knew what to do so he took off the jacket and the helmet while keeping his sunglasses on

"Akeshi, get back on the line"

"Sorry Captain, you're going to have to take care of the fire, I got these guys, and one more thing if you meet a Rescue Force member named Todoroki Hikaru or Ishiguro Eiji tell them Obuchi-san/sempai is alive and taking care of the foot soldiers. Todoroki Hikaru is R1and referred to me as Obuchi-san while Ishiguro Eiji is R5 and referred to me as Obuchi-sempai"

With that Obuchi faces the foot soldiers and actually manages to lead a few of them away from the rest of the firefighters and gains a weapon too while he was at it. During the fight Obuchi lost his sunglasses and the enemy took advantage of the disability but only for a moment because Obuchi had learned how to fight temporarily without his sunglasses and if need be even blindfolded. Back when he first left the hospital he and the person he stayed with while getting everything together to join the firefighter academy agreed he needed to learn how to defend himself just in case something happened so he learned self defense or more like relearned it and did well in buildings, they then worked on having him defend himself without his sunglasses in the daylight and they managed to give him a five minute limit on how long he could fight using his eyes without the sunglasses and if it turned out to last longer he also knew how to fight blindfolded. When he lost the sunglasses he was momentarily disoriented but quickly started fighting back and being quite effective surprising the enemy. Meanwhile Rescue Force and Rescue Fire both arrived at the scene at essentially the same time having been alerted to the fact that both groups were needed and this was after Rescue Fire had only just regrouped six weeks earlier after a year long furlough to recover from their fight with Jakaen


	2. Chapter 2

"Rescue Force and Rescue Fire have arrived"

"Rescue Force, Rescue Fire thank goodness you've arrived, we need help there are several areas we can't cover and even when we think we have things under control we suddenly lose that control, there's also the fact that we're under attack by weird foot soldiers"

"We'll take care of the foot soldiers while Rescue Fire takes care of the victims"

"Wait, R1, R5 are you Todoroki Hikaru and Ishiguro Eiji?"

"Yes"

"I have a message from one of my men they told me to tell you and I quote 'Obuchi-san/sempai is alive and taking care of the foot soldiers' afterwords he led some of the foot soldiers away from us and we've since lost contact with him. The thing is we don't know what he's talking about since all we've known him as is Akeshi Kazuhiko"

"Obuchi-san/sempai is alive?!"

"Wait you know what he's talking about?"

"Yes but...Hikaru time to pay him back"

"Right"

"SAVE THE LIFE, Rescue Force Emergency Deployment!"

"Roger!"

"R2, R3 stay here in case more foot soldiers show up, R4 you're with me and R1, we're going to save an old friend"

"But Captain..."

"We'll explain everything later but for now we need to go"

"Roger"

"Rescue Fire, we're counting on you to save the victims we can't take care of"

"Roger!"

Three minutes later R4, Hikaru and Eiji found Obuchi fighting against several foot soldiers blindfolded and doing quite well but they also knew he needed a hand so they jumped in immediately

"Good job Obuchi-sempai, let us take it from here though"

"Ishiguro...glad you're here"

"Talk later fight now Captain, Obuchi-san"

"Right Hikaru, let's do it"

Eventually the fighting was over in regards to the foot soldiers but the fires still needed out so with the help of Rescue Force and Rescue Fire the team Obuchi was on managed to put out the fire for good

"Now what?"

"Now I think I have some explaining to do, to everyone and after that I have some decisions to make"

"Sempai..."

"Later Ishiguro, I promise"

"Fine, but if you're going to explain then Nancy is going to be there for the explanation as well"

"Think you can get the whole team then?"

"Maybe, but you should know that Kamiya-sempai now works in Shizuka Village as the head of their fire station and might not be able to make it"

"Just ask, he might be able to have someone else take over temporarily"

"Okay I'll ask then, it would be nice for the whole team to be together again like old times"

As it turned out it would take three days for things to come together that would allow Obuchi to explain everything that needed explaining because later that same evening he started showing signs of being injured worse than he said and was sent to the hospital to be checked out and it was discovered he had mild internal bleeding. The doctors decided to see if the bleeding would stop on it's own or if they had to intervene and it would turn out that intervention was indeed needed so the doctors did surgery and it took a day for him to recover enough to receive visitors and since they were at the Rescue Force base per request there wasn't a limit to how many visitors there were like a normal hospital because of the fact that Ishiguro mentioned that the person wanted to talk to everyone that was in the room to explain something to them

"Ishiguro, Hikaru and the Rescue Force development team remembers the day they completed R1 Max in front of me when I was Daen correct?"

"Yes, there had been a light that came out of your eye and you mentioned you always had the potential to become Daen, I told Nancy about you so she knows the story as well, we all thought you had died that day performing one last rescue after freeing yourself from Daen"

"What happened that day wasn't the full story, though you wouldn't know until now. Captain I will give you the full Daen story later just know that I was the original R1 with Rescue Force and was thought dead after a rescue for many years. Anyways after I performed the Final Rescue I blacked out and eventually woke up in a hospital with amnesia meaning I didn't remember anything about my life before the day I woke up. Eventually I was released from the hospital and lived with another person who helped me establish myself and also helped me figure out I wanted to be a firefighter, though at the time we didn't know why. At the academy a lot of what I did was instinctive not knowing I was remembering my time as Rescue Force R1 and as such things came easily to me and eventually I got the post I am at now. Unfortunately the Final Rescue cost me severely, I am now extremely sensitive to sunlight and can only function in the real world with prescription sunglasses, though I learned how to temporarily defend myself with limited vision if I lost the sunglasses or even blindfolded if I reached my limit and I still had to fight in the day time"

Obuchi then continued the story of what happened the day he remembered who he was and a few other things that he felt they needed to know about his story without going into the whole Daen issue so that he could be updated by Hikaru and Eiji in regards to what he missed after the explosion seeing as how he had mentioned reading and watching on the news about Rescue Fire. An hour later though Eiji gave an order that really made sense in all reality

"Okay that's enough for today, Obuchi-sempai can explain more of his story later, right now he needs rest"

Everyone then looked at Obuchi and realized he was falling asleep listening to reports and realized that he did indeed still need rest to recover from surgery

"Ishiguro, I never..."

"I understand sempai, late apology accepted of course"

"Thank...you...Ishi...guro"

With that Obuchi simply nodded off to sleep again and then stayed that way for three days mainly due to the fact that the doctors had decided to sedate Obuchi for two of those days after he had woken up the next day and while he was doing fine he developed pneumonia from cracked ribs that had finally broken and the doctors decided to keep him sedated for two days while they adjusted his ventilator and medication for the pneumonia


	3. Chapter 3

"Did his files say anything about a weakened immune system?"

"Nope, but he did get pneumonia when he wound up in the ocean apparently and you know as well as I do that once you get pneumonia once it's much easier to get it again especially under the conditions we're dealing with right now"

"You have a point in that regards, okay just making sure that he's relatively healthy then"

Several days later he was off the ventilator and awake during the day, still on medication for pneumonia but he _was_ getting better and the doctors were even considering releasing him soon

"So have you made any decisions now that you remember everything?"

"Yes, there are still several I have to make including where I ultimately want to work but other decisions have been made. I want to keep in contact with everyone, properly this time Ishiguro no sneaking into the base I promise. I also want to keep working where I was at before all of this happened as Akeshi to limit confusion at the station and I think being who I was after the accident will help me in regards to figuring out who I am now"

"We can accept that, and who knows maybe by the time you make a decision things will have changed at Rescue Force"

"What do you mean Nancy?"

"Sorry can't talk about it right now just know that we're all glad you're alive and hope you keep your promise of staying in proper contact with us"

Obuchi then returns to the firefighter station he worked at on restricted duty until his pneumonia completely cleared up plus his ribs still had some healing to do as well but eventually he was back to full duty

"Akeshi, eye doctor called saying they want to try something which will take you off duty for two days"

"Is it related to light sensitivity?"

"Actually no, they said something about chemical blurriness"

"Oh I know what they're talking about, okay when do they want to see me?"

"Earliest office hours possible tomorrow, seeing as how they always know your schedule"

"Right, understood"

Three days later Obuchi was back on duty and things were relatively normal when suddenly they were called to a chemical fire and all of them went with the routine of the captain giving Obuchi his sunglasses as always but when they arrived that's when things changed. The eye doctors had told Obuchi way back in the beginning when he first had amnesia and didn't know who he was that even if there were medical advancements what had been done to his eyes could never be fully cured, only helped through surgery and even then because surgery itself could cause scarring they had to be careful how much they did at any one time and then wait for the results of healing before deciding if they should continue or not, eventually getting to the point where he could function with prescription sunglasses that were between medium prescription and the strongest available but when he first had problems with chemical fires everyone was stumped until recently and the doctors had an experimental procedure to try and they wanted as always to have two days of healing to his eyes before he did anything like fight fires again, regular every day activity was fine after a day but his job was a no go. When they realized it was a chemical fire the entire team was concerned at first but their teammate quickly helped them with that concern

"The procedure seems to be working guys, I can see like normal with the sunglasses, let's get to work"

"Right"

Things were going well when suddenly they discovered that there were still people trapped so they immediately split up and Obuchi went into rescue mode and got evacuations underway and actually did pretty well until he had to lead people to the roof and realized the only way out was down...without rope or gear

"This probably wasn't one of my better ideas now that I think about it"

"Oh really Akeshi you think?"

"Yeah, should have thought of another route instead of just up"

"Now what?"

"That's a good question, we're too high up for the ladder and the smoke is too thick for a helicopter"

"Again, now what?"

"Let me think a moment"

Obuchi looks at the situation the way he was taught to for Rescue Force and then comes up with a solution that he _knew_ people weren't going to like all that much

"Okay I have a plan, but you're not going to like it all that much"

"What's the plan then?"

"First we need to go back the way we came two floors down, once there I'll explain further"

"Fine, don't like it by the way"

"Like I said you wouldn't but it's our only chance"

They get back down two floors and then the two people with Obuchi waited for the next part of the plan

"Okay, now I want you two to go down that stairway to the left, the door is cool enough and use the stairs there to escape the building, once there meet up with the captain and let him know all victims rescued Koreth"

"What about you Akeshi?"

"I won't be joining you guys, I have another route I need to take, tell the captain I'm fine and will meet up with him back at the station and don't believe my death even if there's an explosion until he has proof"

"Akeshi!..."

Obuchi ran the opposite direction while the other two followed his escape plan, and there had indeed been an explosion like he had predicted to his fellow firefighter

"Akeshi is...dead"

"No, he said not to declare him dead without proof so we won't declare him dead without proof, for now we head back to the station and hope Akeshi meets up with us there in a little bit like he planned"

"But Captain..."

"He's alive until further notice is that understood?"

"Yes sir"

Three hours later most of the station had given up hope that Obuchi was alive when suddenly they heard a door open and they saw their missing member enter looking worse for wear but alive

"Akeshi, you're okay"

"I'm fine guys, dirty, tired and in definite need of some food but I'm fine"

When they went to slap him on the back though the Captain noticed the wince of pain and called him on it immediately

"Akeshi, medical, now"

"Captain..."

"Akeshi, do we need to have a talk again?"

"No, I'll report to medical"

Akeshi practically ran to the small medical office while the others gave the Captain a weird look having only joined the station a year earlier and as such weren't part of the station when he first joined three years earlier and Akeshi had been lectured by the Captain in regards to injuries before. He saw the looks he was being given and simply shrugged

"It's complicated, and not something to be explained without him, and it actually goes in hand with why he gives me his sunglasses at the start of every shift during the day"

"But you guys said..."

"Yeah, we only told you guys half the story"

Five minutes later Akeshi came out without any obvious bandages except one where he had a cut on his face

"Okay what's the damage?"

"Strained muscles and a burn I wasn't aware of"

"Where's the burn?"

"On my back, it's a mild burn though so it will heal without intervention"

"Good, now then they're asking about the lecture story and since it's tied in with the story we already told them in regards to your sunglasses I felt I shouldn't tell it without you here"

"Okay guess we really don't have much choice in the matter do we?"

"Not much, unless you want them constantly asking us questions like when they first joined"

(Sighs) "I remember alright, but guys, after our shift is done okay? I don't want any interruptions in regards to the story"

"We can live with that"

Eventually their shift ended and they all actually went to the Captain's house for the story


	4. Chapter 4

"Okay, all of you remember how we told you the story of why the Captain keeps the sunglasses?"

"Yeah, the crew constantly hid the sunglasses from you so the two of you agreed he would keep them until necessary"

"That wasn't the entire truth, there's a reason. Okay so you know that the original crew I served with used to play jokes on me in regards to my sunglasses by hiding them from me. They didn't know just how serious the Captain and I were about the fact that I needed the sunglasses to function, they thought I was making it up because at the time I didn't want anyone who didn't need to know about my disability to know and I figured at the time that only the Captain of the station needed to know. One day though they took the joking too far and one of them hid the sunglasses on their person knowing I would never directly ask them to tell me where they were because again at the time I didn't want to admit a weakness to anyone not knowing it was hurting everyone by hiding the truth. We were called out to a fire and I acted like nothing was wrong and even went on a search and rescue mission despite the Captain's worries. Everything was fine, until an explosion happened, but no one knew that I was involved at first, they thought I was in another area at the time. Due to my decreased vision I was hit by falling debris but the victims I was rescuing didn't know about that because of the fact that the debris only really skimmed me, not to mention I had gone slightly ahead as a scout to make sure the path was safe so they never saw the falling debris hit me and I never mentioned it. I walked out under my own power and never reported the incident to the Captain though I should have. We eventually returned to the station and I was given the sunglasses back by finding them in my locker after meal time was over. I kept up the act that I was fine for several days secretly tending to injuries that the uniform hid whenever possible, until one day it all came crashing down. We were at a fire and several people needed rescuing so we split up our duties like normal and at first everything was fine, until the fire suddenly spread due to an explosion and several people became trapped. We didn't have any heavy equipment available to handle the debris so we used our hands and fallen debris that would help us with leverage. Unfortunately my injuries prevented me from properly using the leverage despite several attempts and at one point I cried out in pain and grabbed my left shoulder. The Captain thought I had strained it only just moments earlier so he took over and didn't ask any questions, simply ordering me to do other work that wouldn't strain my shoulder any further. Afterwords he took me to the hospital for treatment and that's when he discovered I had actually been injured in the explosion and had never told him. He asked me what had happened and I finally told him the truth about how without my sunglasses I had been hit by debris and had actually been involved with the explosion they all thought I had missed. Once I was cleared for light duty the Captain and I talked about the jokes and the hidden truths that had been going on at the station since I first started and we came to an agreement that he would hold onto my sunglasses as a way to keep them safe from co-workers who didn't care I needed them. We also agreed that I would no longer hide my disability which is why I told each and every one of you as you joined about my vision issues. The crew that played the jokes on me apologized about what they had done and did a few things to make amends all of them each transferring due to other issues besides me. During the time I was on light duty however one day the Captain called me to his office and I wondered what I had done wrong, finding out that hiding my injures had made the Captain mad, even if he understood my motivation when I explained things to him. He gave me a two hour lecture at the first opportunity in regards to lying to him about my health. The first lecture was only five minutes but it was essentially the same lecture as the two hour one, just more condensed and job oriented then the two hour lecture. We also came up with the agreement that for six months he would check on me personally after each shift to make sure I wasn't lying about injuries, after that we've used the honor system except whenever I am obviously injured and taken to the hospital for treatment"

"So when he saw you wince with a gentle back slap..."

"He knew I needed medical attention, thus the warning about getting another lecture about letting my injures remain untreated for so long, because of the fact I did that before the shoulder took longer to heal than it should and the burns became infected and I have a few scars where they cut my skin open to drain all the infection away"

"Why didn't you speak up immediately then when you got back like you were supposed to?"

"Honestly didn't think I was injured, yes I was _near_ the explosion but I honestly thought I was far enough away that I avoided injury, though now that I think about it the blast did knock me down so that must have been when I got burned and didn't notice because of my protective gear"

"Wait there might have been one other time you got burned without notice, remember that one incident during the escape attempt?"

"Oh, it could have happened then too because the coat briefly came off to help another victim"

"Exactly, how mild is the burn anyways?"

"First degree burn, just a large area is all, the nurse said it's possible that I actually have a second degree burn that hasn't matured yet and thus regular checkups either at her place or the office until further notice"

"Understood, if it gets worse than what you have now you know that you're on light duty right?"

"I know and can agree to that"

"By the way we're all getting time off tomorrow"

"What for?"

"Rescue Force invited us to their base with Rescue Fire requesting we do some training with them"

"This should be interesting, tell me Captain how did they refer to me as?"

"Akeshi, they invited you as Akeshi per your request"

"Eh?"

"Sorry guys, can't explain, not yet anyways"

"So you still haven't..."

"No, not yet, it's hard all things considered"

"Understood, let me know when you do?"

"But of course Captain"

"Part of what you can't explain yet Akeshi?"

"Yep"

"By the way you never explained why you had to take another route"

"Oh that, everyone knows that I tend to be observant during search and rescue missions right?"

"Yeah"

"Well I noticed on that floor when I thought about using the roof for the escape that one of the doors led to a room that controlled the shut off valves of the chemicals we were dealing with, but I also knew that the fumes would still probably cause an explosion, however with the chemicals no longer active it would help the rest of the team fight the fire much quicker. There are such rooms on every floor but only that one at the time still had access to it unlike the other floors"

"So that's why you had to take another route, you were taking care of the shut off valves that the workers never had time to deal with"

"Exactly"

"That actually makes a lot of sense now that I understand what you're thinking, but then how did you get the rest of the way down?"

"That's a bit more complicated, you see I knew that most routes were closed off but I figured that there had to be escape routes from the shut off rooms just in case and I was right, though it was a bit tricky finding the new escape route since we didn't have diagrams of the building before hand like we should have"

"Yeah...that's because of the fact that the company was working on updating the diagrams and would have given them to us given enough time to finish the update, they had already told us about it before the fire and we would have been receiving updates within the week if not for the fire"

"Oh, didn't know that"

"We know, it's not something we advertise often but on occasion you find out about updated plans for buildings coming to us within a certain period of time"

The next day they arrived at the Rescue Force base and the rest of the team was pretty impressed, Obuchi of course knew the base from before and while he wasn't as impressed he was interested in a few changes he noticed from his time there before, including when he had snuck in as Daen


	5. Chapter 5

"Akeshi-san do you want to spar?"

"Sorry Todoroki-san that's not a good idea until we know for sure if the burn on my back will mature to a second degree burn or remain a first degree burn that won't take long to heal"

"Burn?!"

"It's fine Ishiguro, I've already been checked out by our medic today and so far it hasn't matured but you know full well that burns can take days to properly mature"

"Oh really, when do you recall me being burned that badly?"

"Daisetsuzan"

"Oh, that incident"

"Yep that incident"

"How I'm not scarred is beyond me"

"Now that's my secret Ishiguro"

"What did you do and does it involve why you have no scars now?"

"Not telling and no, they're not related"

"How can you be so sure Akeshi-san?"

"Am...ne...sia Todoroki-san"

"Right you wouldn't have remembered then, forgot about that"

"Now then I believe we have training with Rescue Fire so we'll get to work on that, and maybe afterwords we can talk a bit more about something"

"Oi Akeshi I thought you hadn't..."

"I haven't Captain, but there's something I want to discuss with them about"

"Fine, just remember your promise will ya? Last time you made a promise you broke it severely by forgetting about it"

"In my defense that was so totally not my fault"

"And what makes you say that?"

"Three days unconscious with fever after saving someone from flood waters"

"Why is this the first time I've heard about that?"

"No idea, I didn't have time to write the report at the time so I requested the local fire department explain things, plus the medical files should have been sent as well, if they weren't then someone made a mix up some where's that I wasn't aware of until now myself considering it's been two years since that promise I broke"

"Okay you win, not your fault the promise got broke"

The group then did training with Rescue Fire and they were amazed at how good they were at both fighting foot soldiers and getting the fires out, or at least most of them were plus they got some equipment training in as well because while the fire station had access to some of the equipment it was one of the smaller stations so it didn't have as much as another station might, which was part of the problem the other day in the fire when Obuchi and his fellow firefighter got trapped on the roof temporarily. Due to the fact that the equipment had been needed else where's they didn't have it when they themselves needed it. Finally the training ended for the day and Akeshi remained behind

"You needed to speak with us Akeshi?"

"Yeah, I was wondering if it was possible for me to do my self defense training here instead of at the dojo I normally go to, not because they're a bad dojo but because honestly I miss Rescue Force and am struggling with my decision to either remain with my new crew and permanently leave Rescue Force like Kamiya did or return in another position, I was also wondering if you guys had any ideas on how to keep my sunglasses on me whenever I end up in a fight again against the foot soldiers of the current enemies"

"Sorry, nothing we can currently do in regards to the sunglasses due to the fact that while you had some when you were Daen prescription sunglasses are nothing to mess with, as for training yes you can whenever possible"

"Thanks Ishiguro...I am also debating on whether or not to return to my true name and that decision hasn't been easily either"

"You'll figure it out, I'm sure you will"

Two weeks later the team was called back to Rescue Force for an unknown reason, not even Obuchi knew about the summons until the Captain told him and he had talked to Ishiguro just the night before and after the talk had finally made his decision on several things, or so he thought

"Captain, afterwords I need to talk to you myself, it's about my promise"

"I understand Akeshi"

They soon reach the Rescue Force base

"I'm sure you're wondering why you were called here"

"Yes we are"

"Recently Rescue Force has been looking into part time members to supplement the main team in Europe, you would continue working your regular jobs unless called up to fight Extreme Disasters at whatever location you're told, you would also have base duty one week a month on a rotating bases. The new team would be called Special duty Rescue Force"

"Well, this means I have a new decision to make then"

"What are you talking about Akeshi?"

"Captain, I was going to announce this to you in private later but last night I made a decision on several things, one of which was to leave the fire department and rejoin Rescue Force"

"Akeshi, what do you mean by rejoin? You've never been part of Rescue Force before"

"Actually I have and that's another decision I had made, no matter what else I wanted to be who I was before, I want to be Obuchi again"

"Sempai, are you sure after all everything that's happened..."

"I've made peace with everything Ishiguro, and shouldn't deny who I am any longer"

"What are you talking about Akeshi?"

(Sighs) "I think I need to explain some things to you guys, the Captain already knows the story and considering the events of today you deserve to know too, especially if I join the new Rescue Force which is made up of part time members instead of full time"

"Good thing we have the day off then"

So they go to the cafeteria and Obuchi gives the rest of his crew his full story, from being part of the original Rescue Force team, to the incident which caused him to become Daen, his actions during that time, how he regained his Rescue Soul and even how he wound up with amnesia and onto the firefighter force

"It's how you knew how to fight the new foot soldiers isn't it?"

"Yes it is"

"Akeshi...no Obuchi, you should be part of Rescue Force again, even if it means we lose you you're a rescue worker meant to do something greater"

"Except now that there's this option I want to figure out if I want to go full time or part time, Kamiya left and I know why and I have a feeling even if he finds out about this he won't rejoin but now with this option I actually have a choice and need to figure out what I want to do"

"Either way we support you Ake...Obuchi"

"You guys can still call me Akeshi until you get used to my real name guys, I won't mind after all you guys have known me as Akeshi longer than Obuchi"

They soon left the base and for several days Obuchi debated on whether or not to accept being a part time member of Rescue Force or once again being a full time member, during that time he asked Nancy many questions about the new unit and what the duty would entail exactly plus many other questions he had including why they would trust him with such a duty again after what he had done before. Finally though he had made his decision

"Can I talk to you guys after shift?"

"Sure Obuchi, where?"

"The Captain's house"

"I assume this means you've made your decision"

"It does indeed"

"Very well"

Their shift ended and all of them headed to the Captain's place

"So Obuchi, what have you decided?"

"I am going to join the new Rescue Force team while still working here"

"We'll have to figure out the new schedule then and you might have to work with a new Captain and new teammates"

"Let the department figure all of that out, in the meantime this means that I might have to suddenly leave during a fire or even just suddenly leave the station, if I am on cooking duty I'll let you guys know something is on"

"No, we'll have someone nearby who can hear the alerts that you get so that they can take over"

"Fine, let's compromise, you have someone nearby and I'll let that person know that something is on"

"How about we simply figure things out as we go"

"That works too"

"Though you might be gone longer for the initial training then most people Obuchi"

"Because of suit testing to make sure that the shields properly work for my eyes"

"Exactly"

"How do you know about that though Captain?"

"R5 also known as Ishiguro Eiji recently contacted me in regards to the unit when he realized you needed to think about what was going on and explained it to me"

"Oh okay"

The next day Obuchi visited Rescue Phoenix and told Ishiguro that he was rejoining Rescue Force as part of the part time rescue unit


	6. Chapter 6

"I've found I enjoy being a firefighter and besides it might help keep me more grounded than simply responding to Extreme Disasters all the time"

"We understand sempai, we're just glad you're alive"

"Yeah it's good to be alive I can agree with that for sure"

Soon enough the testing specifically for Obuchi began and eventually they managed to work out a balance with the face shield that worked like his prescription sunglasses out in the sun yet didn't hinder his vision whenever he was in a building because they had learned that if he was going to go inside he took off his sunglasses and put them in a special pocket specifically designed for such situations, once that was completed they started bringing the team together for formalized training before becoming an official unit and the training went well until Obuchi froze up in the field but with good reason

"It can't be...Terra Resetter?!"

Obuchi froze with memories going through his mind not hearing his teammates until suddenly he got slapped

"Obuchi-san the training exercise has stopped"

"Training...right, just training"

His communication device beeped and he saw Ishiguro looking right at him

"Sorry Ishiguro, wasn't expecting to freeze up"

"Should have thought you might though and properly made sure your memories had been dealt with before now, it was too sudden all things considered"

"Yeah, it was, I'm fine now though Ishiguro, let's continue"

"Fine but if you freeze up again..."

"I know, therapists are in my future, might be a good idea anyways just to make sure I'm really actually medically cleared"

"We'll talk about that later, for now we're going to try the exercise again and..."

All of a sudden though they lost communication due to the fact that this time the Terra Resetter was real and not part of the exercise

"Instructor did you activate it?"

"It's not ours that's going off it's something else, more like some _one_ else actually"

"Terra Resetter, who revived you?"

"Obuchi-san?"

"Member Obuchi, can you handle this?"

"Yes"

"Even if..."

"Those memories might actually come in handy, especially if they're the same ones that attacked my fire department and then went quiet"

"Very well I will trust you on this for now, but if you even _think_ you're having issues let me know. I know that you're not officially activated as a team but I am sending you guys out into the field, let's just call this a test run to see just how far you've come in training"

They go to the scene and mainly follow the directions of Rescue Force when suddenly Obuchi realized what was needed. The reason the team was so unique was because they were a kind of combination of Rescue Force and Rescue Fire in how they handled Final Rescues. While they were supposed to get permission for the Final Rescue, they also had the authority to do a Final Rescue without request if they felt it was needed, it was a hard balancing act but they were learning

"Final Rescue"

He heard an automated voice say what the commanding officer would say if he had requested permission

"Explosively suppress it!"

Once the Final Rescue was completed they were surprised that the Terra Resetter was still functioning

"Okay now what?"

"Combine Final Rescues?"

"That works"

That's what they do and then the two groups together said the ending phrase after each Final Rescue

"Explosively completed"

"Looks like they're ready for the field Captain Ishiguro"

"Indeed, and I think we know who the field commander is going to be too"

"But will he accept it, and will they once they know his history which he's going to have to explain after his display today?"

"We'll have to find out, tell them I want to talk to them when they get back"

"Right"

They soon reach Rescue Phoenix

"You wanted to talk to us Captain?"

"Yes R2, we need to talk about something, Obuchi-sempai you know what it is too"

"Indeed I do Ishiguro, indeed I do"

"Oi don't talk so casually to the Captain"

"Actually he's the only one who has permission to do so considering the situation"

"Indeed, now then Ishiguro, you and Todoroki Hikaru already know the story, do you want the rest of your team to know as well since we'll be working together on occasion?"

"It would be safest for them Captain, after all with what happened in the field today it will help prepare them if it happens again and prevent accidents like what almost happened out there, if not for the fact that I was there..."

"Very well, but only if Sempai agrees"

"I do Ishiguro"

"Sempai?"

(Sighs) "I have a lot to explain to everyone except Ishiguro and Todoroki Hikaru considering they were there for part of the story and Ishiguro was actually there from the beginning in a way. First of all before I go into the full story you should know that this isn't the first time I have been part of Rescue Force. I was one of the original team members, I was the first R1"

Everyone who wasn't in the know looked at each other, looked at Obuchi, looked at each other again and then explained their shock in one united voice

"Eh?!"

Once they calmed down Obuchi explained the full story that only his station knew and that story took over an hour mainly due to several interruptions

"I managed to channel the Daen personality as a means of doing my best for the rescue but when that personality comes out I...become slightly more aggressive and not as focused on my safety it seems. Mainly because when I was Daen I was in my base safe for the most part and focused on destroying Earth. This time my focus will be on rescuing people but I might put the danger I am in in the background instead of actively keeping a full awareness of my surroundings like I'm supposed to"

"Or if it comes out during the fight like today his punches get much harder but that battle focus only lasts until after he's done taking care of the one attacking him, if I wasn't there he would have been severely hurt because he wasn't watching his back like he should have"

"And the training exercise before the extreme disaster?"

"I froze with the memories of what I had done as Daen, and I need to work that out if we're going to take care of the new enemy, which has appeared once before but then they went into hiding for some reason"

"In the meantime you guys need to come to an important decision now that you know his story. Do you trust him to be field commander even with his newly discovered issue or do you want to help us find people who will trust him and back him up?"

"What about base commander?"

"They know and understand him enough to trust him in everything"

"Oh?"

"It's Nancy's apprentice, Shiraki Juri"

"She knows the story too, that's good to know"

"Still you guys haven't answered the question of if you trust him or not"

"Can we have a little time to think about this?, we're sort of in information overload right now"

"That makes the most sense, training is suspended for a week while you guys make your decisions, you can go back to your normal jobs during that time and explain that events happened during training that required you guys to take a break to think things through about joining Rescue Force even part time, it was actually done with the original team too now that I think about it"

"It was, mainly because we were going to be new and they wanted to make sure we were resolved in dealing with such consequences in regards to battles to be trusted at sites that needed us"

"And there were battles, remember that one argument sempai?"

"Oh yeah I remember, better than you anyways considering you got a concussion that day"

"Actually I think I do clearly remember that argument"

"Either way, we need time away from here to think about everything, and a week should do"

So Obuchi goes back to the fire department and explains the situation about everyone getting a week to decide if they really wanted to be part of the unit or not

"But why?"

"Because of me, they finally heard the story about me being part of the original Rescue Force and how I became Daen, they need time to decide if they trust me or not especially because my Daen personality seems to come out during rescues"

"So because of your past..."

"Mostly, but it really is a good idea for them to decide now if they really want to be part of Rescue Force or not especially as we're going to only be part time members which means we won't be called on as much and they need to decide if such training is worth being called so little compared to what they're doing now in their civilian lives"

Things started out okay but then one day they responded to a fire when suddenly they were attacked by robots plus a wave of energy was suddenly felt

"Terra Resetter"

"Now what?"

"There's something I can still do"

"But you have no team which means you can't do anything, you're not officially Rescue Force Obuchi"

"Except that everyone but me was required to turn these in before leaving for the week, but I was given a special exception"

With that Obuchi reveals a Rescue Commander unit

"Obuchi..."

"Don't worry I know that I'm not part of Rescue Force officially yet, but I can still do something about the Terra Resetter"

"Like what?"

"There's a reason I arrived early"

Obuchi goes back to the truck and reveals a Rescue Crusher and puts it in Mantis mode and uses the Rescue Card associated with it and actually does some good by revealing it was shielded

"Okay, I can't do anything more because of the shield but at least we can tell Rescue Force or Rescue Fire when they arrive about the shielding"

"And maybe we can use the tool you have for our mission as well"

"No, not yet"

"Understood Obuchi, watch our backs until pros arrive?"

"Of course Captain"

Obuchi fought the foot soldiers until Rescue Force arrived and then focused on rescuing the victims when suddenly an area he was in collapsed and almost no one had the means to contact him, except one group, if they were lucky, but first his team was told not to try by another team

"Don't try and contact him, he's dead, he was in the area that collapsed"

"We might have a way"

Ishiguro immediately brought out his Rescue Commander

"Obuchi-sempai can you hear me? Obuchi-sempai can you hear me? Obuchi-sempai!"

"Ishi...guro"

"I'm here sempai"

"Listen to me, you have to...use something extremely strong to handle the area I am in...there is a risk I will be killed...however there are others trapped with me still that need rescuing"

"I understand sempai, Rescue Soul!"

"Rescue...Soul"

The group quickly locates where Obuchi and the victims were at and used mantis impact to free everyone combined with a few other things that were needed but finally they reached the area of the victims and discovered most were okay, the most seriously injured after Obuchi was a child with an obvious leg injury that had happened in the initial incident when the child's leg got caught in something which Obuchi had to free him from

"Captain, how are we going to free Obuchi-san safely and quickly? I don't like the sound of his breathing"

"Neither do I, however there might be a reason besides the worst case scenario we're thinking of"

"Still doesn't get us closer to figuring out the problem"

"You're right, let's see where it ends and begins so that we know for ourselves to try and figure it out"

They eventually succeed in figuring out the safest way of getting Obuchi out from under the beams and do so and then quickly transport him back to base. They soon found out that what had happened was a combination of two broken ribs, the weight of the beams and an allergic reaction that fortunately wasn't severe enough to completely affect his breathing but he did need antihistamines to handle the reaction


	7. Chapter 7

"But if he's allergic then..."

"Don't worry he can still do his job, however, remember the accident that made us think he was dead in the first place?"

"Yes"

"Some of the chemicals he was exposed to there were at the rescue sight today due to the fact that they're now common cleaning chemicals, the long term exposure made him sensitive to the chemicals and this time his body was ready for them and decided to give him allergies"

"So we're simply going to have to keep an eye on him and for the chemicals he's allergic to in the future"

"Yes, but fortunately we won't have to be extremely careful and there are things we can do before he arrives at a scene to make sure he doesn't have a reaction again, or if he does it's not as severe"

"But only if we know before hand"

"Don't worry I have an idea that he might agree with, might is the key though"

"How complicated is the plan?"

"Not as complicated as our rescues but considering who he is it's complicated enough"

"Daen personality possibility?"

"Yeah, it's possible mainly because of how _stubborn_ I remember him being"

"How do you think he got us out of his base originally?"

"Don't tell me let me guess, he locked the doors of the main room didn't he?"

"Yep, after he shoved us out with only his staff which had the Rescue Max plans on it"

"Either way we might not get him to agree to the treatment plan"

"But if he has another attack..."

"Exactly, we might have to explain it that ways to him instead"

"Either way I don't want any plans started until he's healed up, what about his job?"

"They're relieved he's okay, want answers about when they can visit him and the captain is demanding to talk to you Captain Ishiguro, something about communication issues"

"Oh I think I know what's going on, okay let's go see them"

They go to Obuchi's firefighting team and talk to them about his condition and then Ishiguro and Obuchi's Captain have a private talk about how to handle communication blackouts and what they could do to keep in contact with Obuchi in the future whenever he was in Rescue Force mode

"For now though I think he's going to be on medical leave"

"Plus we have no clue still if the ones he was training with before his story was revealed will want to work with him or not, if that happens to be the case they'll help train their replacements but that means delaying the new team even longer and we _need_ the help"

"We'll do what we can but I highly doubt the department will approve all of us becoming part time Rescue Force members even if we do know the story and have accepted him"

"Either way, your support will be appreciated, and you will have the clearance needed to know about our work so that he can talk to you guys whenever he isn't doing Rescue Force duty"

"Thank you that will probably be a big help to him"

A few days later Obuchi was strong enough to talk about the treatment option and it turned out that it _was_ a battle, but not for the reason many thought it was. Most people thought that Obuchi was against the procedure because it meant being out of action longer than before but that wasn't the case. The real reason he was objecting to the treatment plan was the danger to the medical personnel, because the treatment plan involved not only special drugs that combated allergic reactions but also drugs that potentially made him go into flashbacks and he was _dangerous_ as Daen. He knew that if he had a flashback he might not remember that he was good once more and a Rescue Force member once again and as such he might hurt people during the period of flashbacks and he didn't want that kind of risk to the people only trying to help him with a potentially fatal issue

"Sempai please take the treatment, I don't want to risk losing you to an allergic reaction which can be treated to the point where it's basically gone except in the highest concentrations"

"Ishiguro, I can't, it's too dangerous, if I should go into a flashback there's a very good chance I will go into my Daen personality and you know what that means. I am hyper focused on my goal as Daen and when I was truly him without my Rescue Soul intact I wanted to destroy Earth and Rescue Force, now if my Daen personality comes out I also have my Rescue Soul to help me know that my mission is to rescue people not hurt them but in a flashback..."

"I'll be there sempai to help with that, as will Hikaru I'm sure if we explain things to him"

"Very well Ishiguro I shall trust you to help me in regards to the flashbacks but _please_ knock me out if I become a danger to the medical personnel"

"We will sempai I promise"

The end of the week soon came up and that's when they found out that all but one member would continue to serve on the new Rescue Force team with Obuchi, and even then the reason why the final member ultimately decided not to join wasn't because of Obuchi's past but because while he was away he had learned some devastating news from relatives in America and had decided to take a leave of absence from his civilian job and join his family in America and see if he should move there or come back to Japan after the situation had been resolved, otherwise he would have gladly joined the new Rescue Force team and served under Obuchi having no problems with his past as Daen

"There will be a delay in the deployment however because Obuchi-sempai needs treatment for something that only just showed up"

"In the meantime we'll continue the training and then once he's well enough we'll do more teamwork integration training before being officially recognized Rescue Force members"

"That works out fine, and Amagi-san I hope your visit to relatives in America goes okay and that things settle down relatively quickly. We don't blame you for not joining so that you can take care of your family, it's where you're needed right now and who knows maybe...maybe if we have an American branch you can join there instead, at least think about it if you decide to stay in America after all"

"I will"

"Captain Ishiguro, since we're going to be serving under him can we help with the treatments?"

"No, I'm afraid not, not because of the fact that we don't trust you to keep your word about staying by him despite his past as Daen but because of how dangerous it can get, the less people around him if he's in a flashback the better, it might help minimize issues"

"Understood Captain"

"Wait, the treatments involve flashbacks?"

"Yes, we really can't explain why yet because it's a relatively new treatment still but it helps with allergies the best so we're using it"

The new team members simply decide to wait to see who would replace Amagi in training and it turned out he had a cousin in Hyper Rescue who would be a good fit, and even understood Obuchi's past enough to know that while Obuchi had done things considered greatly evil he was a good person who had regained his Rescue Soul and that part of the problem had been the fact he had been under the control of something, even if he'd always had the potential to become Daen that evil had made it a reality then just something that could have happened


	8. Chapter 8

"Well time to get training, though I'm surprised you're not going to America too to help with the family situation"

"That's because we found out at the same time having been eating a meal together and I was essentially ordered to stay here since I am or was still new to Hyper Rescue, not to mention the fact that Hyper Rescue is more busy than what my cousin was doing so it made sense he would go and if need be then stay in America than me, besides I don't know that side of the family like my cousin does seeing as how he visits them on a more regular basis"

"How long are the treatments going to be anyways?"

"Who knows"

It would turn out that the treatments would last three weeks and Obuchi had a flashback to his Daen days almost every single day except twice which meant he was _very_ dangerous to Rescue Force during the treatment period but finally with several drugs and one minor surgery that was discovered it was needed Obuchi's allergy issue was no more and soon enough the team was fully integrated

"Obuchi-san, why do you wear sunglasses whenever you're out in civilian clothing, or even uniform?"

"That's right, you may know my background as Daen but you don't know the results of a Final Rescue I preformed. Due to the explosion I caused to destroy my base as a Final Rescue I ended up amnesic for four years and my eyes became extremely sensitive to natural sunlight, that means if I am going to be out during the day I have to wear prescription sunglasses in order to function"

"There are even times when he has to wear the sunglasses inside a building which is frowned upon but he always keeps the doctors note on him so that if police get involved they know just why he's wearing them"

"Exactly, it doesn't happen often but every so often my eyes are so sensitive to sunlight that even sunlight coming through windows gives me a problem and I have to wear the sunglasses indoors"

What no one knew was that once Obuchi had decided to go back to his original name he had talked to his eye doctor and mentioned wanting the prescription sunglasses under both his real name and the name the Japanese government had given him while he was amnesic, he explained he didn't understand why but he felt it was important for the future. He had even gotten the government to keep the name they had given him while he was amnesic solely for his use in case something happened that required him to use his amnesic name and when they asked why he told them of how it might be important in the future and that if another event like what happened over fourteen years ago that made him be thought dead for ten years happened again having another name might prove handy in fooling the enemy that he was dead and they realized his point and agreed that he could keep the name Akeshi Kazuhiko for emergency situations

"Well, now that training is over with I should explain how this unit will actually work"

"What do you mean Captain?"

"Obuchi-sempai already knows this but one week a month one of you will be on duty at the base on a rotating bases. You will also be on call for Extreme Disasters at all times with your jobs already knowing about this and prepared to let you go at a moments notice. You will also have training on a regular basis to keep your skills up. You will not have rotation during Christmas but New Years will be a rotation. There's also the fact that if we get multiple Extreme Disasters you may be required to stay on base longer than just the one mission and will have to inform your bosses of the fact that you are busy. I and the rest of Rescue Force will be in Europe for the most part but you will be sharing a base with Rescue Fire which is solely based in Japan for the moment. You will also have to work out a rotation with your civilian jobs to make sure you're rested enough to actually do rescue work at a moments notice. Your Rescue Commanders are to be on you at all times and the Dual Crusher as well"

With that they went back to their civilian jobs though first everyone went to Obuchi's because of the fact that he was the one with the most unpredictable job out of the group and since he was in the most danger they felt it necessary to meet their teammates civilian backup and make sure they would indeed keep him as safe as they could whenever they weren't around

"Hey Obuchi, you guys official yet?"

"Yes Captain we're official, these are my new teammates"

"Good to hear, by the way your eye doctor called again but this time he wanted to meet with me for some reason"

"Oh it's probably about the spare sunglasses I requested you have"

"Obuchi?"

"I know that normally I give you my sunglasses and you keep them until they're needed but now that I'm part of Rescue Force there's a good chance that I might break the sunglasses and as such it's good to know that there's a spare pair available and safe with you at the station"

"That actually makes sense, okay just wondering was all after all normally I pass on messages to you in regards to your eye doctor I'm not used to being needed by him"

"Her actually"

"Since when?"

"Three days ago, the reason why you heard a male voice was because of the person manning the desk at the time was male, there's both male and female members manning the desk it all depends on what day and time is all"

"Okay that makes sense then"

"So when are you guys off shift?"

"Finished ten minutes ago, however we're still here because a fire was called just as our shift ended and you know what that means"

"You stay until you're sure that you're not needed as backup"

"Exactly, and that could take another five to ten minutes so you guys might as well simply either head to my house or go to your homes"

"Your place Captain it would be nice for my two teams to get to know each other"

"Might be useful in the future too all things considered, see you guys after we're sure we're not needed and Obuchi if it turns out we _are_ needed we'll let you know somehow"

"Understood"

Twenty-five minutes later everyone was at the Captain's house and eating a decent meal before simply socializing for a bit getting to know each other. With that Obuchi's Rescue Force team knew that they could properly count on his civilian firefighting team to back him up despite his past as Daen

"So when do rotations start?"

"Next month, with Obuchi being the first one in the rotation, not just because he's the field leader but because he requested it"

"Obuchi?"

"I...I need to get used to being in a base again and I feel the sooner the better, I was away from Rescue Force for a long time, thought dead in reality and I _need_ to be part of a team like that again and get used to interacting with the support personnel and it's better to do it sooner rather than later, besides everyone else still needs to get things organized with their jobs while for me we already have the new schedule worked out with the department"

"That's right, I forgot you discovered the new rotation while you were undergoing treatment for your allergy situation"

"Exactly"

Soon the new Rescue Force team was starting rotations and actually got called in their first official day on duty. As it turned out there would be battles to get them fully accepted as they were only part time Rescue Force members but as they proved to be as professional as the full time members they were soon easily accepted

"Who's supposed to be on rotation this month?"

"R3"

"Not this time"

"Why not?"

(Sighs) "I hate to do this Obuchi-sempai but you're needed on rotation this month instead. Someone from the news media has finally linked you with Daen who disappeared a little over four years ago now and we're all under fire, as such we need you on rotation to help with interviews that need to be done and there's a possibility of you having to tell your story to the public which might cause distrust and other issues. We need you at base at all times during the week to help minimize whatever problems arise from this new development"

"Understood Ishiguro, let me tell my job though so that they understand why we have to change the schedule this month"

"Okay that I can do, oh and I'm coming back to Japan to help"

"Right"

"So who all knows your story anyways?"

"You guys, my firefighting team, Rescue Force, Rescue Fire and the government all know because they have to know but that's it, if they weren't there during my Daen days and saw me when I became good again they don't know the story"

"Why have you kept it at need to know for so long?"

"Because of how much destruction I caused as Daen in my past. You guys have to understand something, you may know the story of how I became Daen and what I did during that time but you will _never_ fully understand my emotions during that time period. I have nightmares sometimes about my time period as Daen and what could have happened if I hadn't ever seen Todoroki Hikaru succeed in becoming R1 Max, something I never achieved though I was willing to sacrifice my body for it. I had built up my hate for ten years before I acted as Daen _ten years_ , that's a lot of time to hold onto hate for one single incident. Once I regained my memories I had to deal with a _lot_ of guilt and still do really whenever it becomes overwhelming. As such I realized that for the moment it really is best for me to keep my past as need to know in order to shield my mind from the more terrible aspects of what I have done because while I may be seeing a therapist and healing some of the wounds are still really raw mentally and emotionally and whenever the past is brought up it tears those wounds right back up and I am a wreck once I have time to be alone"

"I guess we can understand then, just let us know if it starts getting to be too much okay? We want to help you with your emotions, you're not alone Obuchi-san"

"Thanks, now then I have a Captain to inform about the new developments so I need to be going"

"Actually we want to come with"

"What for?"

"Easy, we figured we might as well go out to lunch today seeing as how we haven't seen each other except for the Extreme Disasters or training lately"

"You have a point besides I wanted to talk to you guys about something anyways and over a meal is a great time to do so"

They decide to go to the station house first to see if the Captain was in on an off day for whatever reason and was in luck, Obuchi's Captain was covering for another Captain for a couple of hours while the Captain meant for the shift got checked out at the hospital and also checked on one of his men while there and so informed him of the situation and then they left to go to a good eating place. That's when it was discovered it wasn't one of Obuchi's better days in regards to sunlight sensitivity and he needed the sunglasses inside the eating establishment

"Not one of your better days?"

"Nope, too sensitive, and I can't have any more surgeries or we risk scarring my eyes to the point where I would need regular glasses on top of the sunglasses, how we avoided that in the first place is beyond us to start off with so we're not pushing it if we can. The last procedure was to handle chemical blurriness which is a different procedure from light sensitivity"

A waiter appears at their table and talks to Obuchi first

"Excuse me sir, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you take your sunglasses off"

"Here, I have a prescription for them"

Obuchi hands over the prescription and as such the manager is told about it and the rest of the staff is informed he's to be left alone about the sunglasses

"What may I get you people then?"

They order what they want and then simply talk about what they were doing in every day life and finally when the food arrives Obuchi starts to talk about the reason he wanted to talk to them in the first place

"Okay, you guys know how lately I've been acting a bit out of the normal even for what I am doing with two jobs?"

"Yeah, you've been secretive as ever and also a bit short tempered when not dealing with the public, you've also been sparring more often according to those at base"

"There's actually a very valid reason why"

"Oh and what's that reason?"

"Not only have I secretly been trying to develop a new rescue vehicle I have also been undergoing treatment for a medical condition and both are going frustratingly slow not to mention one of the side effects of one of my medications is mood swings, though I do my best to keep it under control when I am out on a rescue either with Rescue Force or the fire department"

"Who all knows about the medical condition?"

"Ishiguro, Shiraki Juri, the medical team and my firefighter Captain all have known since the beginning since the condition was caught when I was injured in a regular fire"

"How much longer are you going to be undergoing treatment?"

"At least three more weeks, but these last three weeks I can't work either job because once the final phase of treatment begins I will be too sick and too weak to work, this is a heads up so that you know how things will work temporarily once things begin"

"I understand, R2 field commander?"

"Yep"

"Understood"

"If it's allowed what is the condition?"

"It's...it's a complication from my original accident that caused me to become Daen in the first place. You guys remember how I had to get treatment for allergies related to the accident?"

"Yeah it turns out you're severely allergic to some of the cleaning chemicals because they were the same chemicals used in the fire that you were declared dead in"

"Turns out that's not all that happened. I not only became allergic to cleaning supplies but a disease showed up that only happens in combination with the allergy treatment, though you initially start off fine you slowly start to get more and more tired and even cough up blood, though the amount gradually increases as time passes. Eventually there's no treatment available if you let the condition go on too long but fortunately we caught it early because of the fire, I was in stage one of the disease, and it's treatable up to stage three as far as doctors can tell"

"So what are all the stages exactly?, you know should we encounter something like this in the future as an Extreme Disaster or something"

"Okay so stage one is general aches and exhaustion that aren't severe and considering I occasionally have a bad nights sleep to be expected for me. The second stage is the exhaustion is more severe and that's when the blood starts coming though it's a very tiny amount at first though as stage two progresses it gets worse. Stage three is the _last_ treatable stage as far as we can tell, the coughing is more severe and maximum amount of blood comes each time you cough, though it's not severe enough to pass out from blood loss for whatever reason. Stage four we think you wind up in a coma and stay there essentially dead but kept alive by machines and the final stage is of course death but only with the permission of family or whoever has the authority to make such decisions"

"And the treatment?"

"It's brutal enough that I am not going to describe it to you, however you guys know enough to handle missions without me now"

"But what about the reporter situation?"

"That needs to be dealt with as well but not when I am sick"

"But Captain Ishiguro..."

"Mentioned the plan a month early as a cover for anyone listening in on our conversations and he also knew at the time that I wasn't quite ready to tell you guys what was going on _especially_ in the location we were at"

"Makes sense I guess, but the reporter situation will have to be dealt with somehow soon"

"We know and who knows Ishiguro might decide to go ahead and do it this month when I am on rotation after treatment but we'll have to wait and see"

"For now though let's simply finish enjoying the meal and go from there"

"That works for me"

Suddenly there were explosions and foot soldiers

"Obuchi-san, do _not_ go into Daen mode, we can't afford it right now"

"Sorry guys but that's not something I can control I either will or won't go into Daen mode I just never know"

"Fine looks like someone is going to be sticking like glue to you until we know for sure"

"More like until the emergency is over because I can go Daen at any moment"

"Good point"

The group starts taking care of the civilians and quickly realizes that the possibility of activation was high enough that all of them did minor things to make sure they were ready, minus Obuchi who couldn't take his sunglasses off for any reason except a Chakusou they all took off whatever clothing would interfere with the change into their Rescue Force uniforms


	9. Chapter 9

"Next time we get together let's meet for a spar session I don't know about you but I am feeling a little out of practice"

"Not your fault Norika, these guys are tough"

"Obuchi double team?"

"Double team"

The two team up and were quite effective when suddenly Obuchi was separated long enough to lose his sunglasses and while he could fight for five minutes without them due to intense training he couldn't this time because for some reason the sun was brighter than normal and as such he only lasted two minutes, but since he also always made sure to carry a blindfold on him he quickly whipped that out and put it over his eyes

"Okay, now you're in trouble"

An officer who got caught in the chaos saw what Obuchi had done and since he didn't know Obuchi asked a very valid question in his mind

"What is that person thinking?"

"The he can fight better completely blind then with severely compromised vision"

"Fine but I'm pulling him out the moment he gets overwhelmed"

"He'll probably agree with you on that, but there's a good chance he'll argue about it too so be ready just in case that happens because he can be _stubborn_ "

All of a sudden though their Rescue Commanders beeped and Obuchi managed to bring his out even though he _really_ wasn't in a good position to do so

"Yes?"

"You guys are needed"

"In case...you haven't...noticed Juri-san...we're a...bit...busy"

"Yeah I noticed, unfortunately we've got three Extreme Disasters going at once one in Europe, one in North America and here so you need to suit up _now_!"

"With...all these...enemies...keeping us...busy?"

"Figure it out Obuchi-san"

"Fine...we'll think...of something...see you...later"

"Right and Obuchi-san lose the blindfold before you suit up"

"Always"

The group finally figured out a way for all of them to change safely, one would change and then protect the next one until all of them were suited up

"Chakusou!"

"Chakusou!"

"Chakusou!"

"Chakusou!"

"Chakusou!"

The robots were then easily taken care of and they then focused on the Extreme Disaster

"Juri-san Final Rescue requested"

"Final Rescue approved, Explosively suppress it!"

The Final Rescue works and then all of them did the signature after move and phrase

"Explosively completed!"

"Obuchi-san, you okay?"

"Fine, annoyed they forced me to blindfold myself but otherwise fine, though I think we should all get checked out at medical and then..."

"Yeah and then"

"By the way sir, you are insane"

"The officer is right Obuchi-san you are definitely insane"

"Oh and you're just now understanding that?"

"Sort of yeah"

"And why didn't you get it when you guys first joined?"

"Um, you haven't done anything _that_ insane until today"

"You have a point but I still gave signs of being insane long before today as the team well knows"

"Well either way we need checked out and then make our reports to our civilian jobs so that they know we're relatively okay"

"Relatively?"

"Yeah, I think I am actually injured now that I don't have to move so much"

"I'm tired that's for sure"

That's when Obuchi simply collapsed having pushed his body too far thanks to the disease he was getting treatment for and so he was rushed to the medical center and the final three weeks of treatment was started a bit early due to the collapse

"He pushed himself too far, the treatment will work like it's supposed to but now instead of awake for us to know what he's feeling he'll probably be unconscious for the first day or so and we actually need critical information the first few days but it is what it is"

"At least he'll get better and once he regains his strength we can fight the reporters"

"Yeah about that, turns out that we're going to have to make a change in plans and explain certain things without him, it's his story but they are demanding a few answers now and the only way to keep them off our backs long enough to allow him to recover is to explain a little bit about why we trust him after what he's done"

"He won't be happy about that Captain Ishiguro and you know that"

"I know, but sempai will also understand"

"You sure he'll understand quickly enough to not go all Daen on us?"

"Yes, he sent me a private message after I mentioned the reporters stating that if absolutely necessary I can give out some basics about the whole trust issue but that was it"

"He really does want to keep the story on a tight leash if it can be helped"

"Yes he does, and we're willing to help him as much as possible, hopefully when he _does_ tell his story to the reporters they'll understand and agree to his request not to publish it beyond stating that Rescue Force has their reasons for trusting him despite his past as Daen"

"Captain Ishiguro just what damage could happen if they don't understand his request?"

"Then you guys might be forced to disband and his job will have to suspend him indefinitely, not to mention he won't be able to find any other work due to mistrust"

"Let's hope they understand then"

"Yeah"

Two months later things were relatively back to normal, after the three week treatment Obuchi quickly regained his strength and talked to the reporter and fortunately they did understand why he didn't want the full story to be published and agreed to keep things to a minimal, only expanding enough to explain just why Rescue Force trusts him despite his past as Daen. At the fire station

"Obuchi, phone call for you, one of your teammates I believe"

"Okay better see why they're calling the station instead of the Rescue Commander"

"This is Obuchi go ahead...I see...okay when was this?...okay what about the Rescue Commander?...I understand...okay I can do that...right see you then...okay thanks for that information are you...okay I will inform the right people then...okay bye"

He hangs up and goes to the common area

"Captain I have to go, one of my teammates ran into some major trouble and needs backup"

"Why use the phone?"

"Sorry not going to explain that one"

"Fine, be careful?"

"Always Captain, always"

Obuchi leaves and with the Rescue Commander calls the others and they deal with the Extreme Disaster that their one teammate was involved with without _their_ Commander and that started a three week duty session due to just how many Extreme Disasters were happening

"Okay, what's going on?"

"Who knows, all I know is that this could be a plot of our enemy to get us so tired we start making mistakes that cost lives, or something else but either way they're doing a good job in exhausting us"

"Maybe we can..."

Suddenly yet another Extreme Disaster was called and this time it was combined with an Extreme Fire

"Let's go"

They go to the site and handle the emergency and finally that's when they are told they caught a break because they had done enough damage to the enemy that they would need time to repair things

"Finally, this period was intense"

"Yeah, by the way Obuchi-san your job?"

"Told them it was a long term assignment and they dealt with it accordingly, I'll let them know I can go back on duty now though"

"Okay"

Obuchi leaves the Rescue base and heads to his station and sees his team on duty

"Hey guys"

"Obuchi!...can you leave base right now?"

"Yes, things have settled down for the moment and I can go back on duty"

"Took long enough"

"Not my fault"

"We know Obuchi, but still three weeks is a long time to deal with an Extreme Disaster"

"How about one right after the other? I know for a fact that there was at least one disaster a day some times more, we're _extremely_ lucky most were focused on Japan and as such Rescue Fire could take care of some of the situations just so that my team could rest every so often"

"Okay no wonder it took so long, but they're taking a break now?"

"They have to, we've done enough damage that they need time to rebuild their forces, not to mention make more Neo Terra Resetters"

"How have you been coping with those anyways?"

"Better than when they first showed up, but I still don't like them"

"And the Daen situation?"

"Never know when that comes out, but it can be handy"

"But also extremely dangerous if you get narrow focusing from it"

"Yeah, we're working on it but it's hard to do so when it only happens during a real emergency, and at random too"

"Well for now we'll let the department know you're available again and you'll get back on schedule soon enough, but for now I think you need to rest"

"Yeah we do, by the way were you guys our backup that one incident at the school?"

"That was us alright, should have known you'd recognize us"

"Yeah you should have, I'm not surprised you didn't see me though considering just how busy we were that day"

Two days later Obuchi was back on his team simply doing his job when the phone rang yet again and yet again it was one of his teammates

"You have _got_ to be kidding me, I'll go see what the problem is this time"

He goes over to the phone not knowing that most of his teammates were secretly making special preparations this time because Obuchi had forgotten something important about that day, something so normal that it would pass by forgotten if not for very sneaky teammates

"This is Obuchi...I see...okay and this requires me how?...oh okay didn't know that...yeah I can be there in fifteen minutes...okay I can do that instead...how many parts are needed?...they're in separate areas?...okay will do...bye"

He hangs up and goes to the common area

"Sorry Captain, something's up at base, hopefully it's nothing too serious but I have to get spare parts for a machine just in case it's more broken then they think it is and unfortunately the pieces I need to get are in different shops so I might be a while"

"And no one else can run the errand?"

"Nope, especially because the machine is something I have been working on when at base and as such I am an integral part of fixing it, knowing what works as a substitute and what doesn't since the other main person has to focus on other machines as well and there are two machines down at once"

"Okay, just get back here as soon as you can"

"Will do"

Five minutes after Obuchi leaves another crew arrives at the station having coordinated everything before hand


	10. Chapter 10

"Okay you guys can go we've got this"

"Thanks for helping us with the surprise"

"Oh we're glad to do so, he's earned this big time, now get going we want to make sure you guys are in place before he gets there"

"Oh he's going to take up to an hour to get there due to the false errands he's going to have to run"

"Good, but you'd better still get going"

"Right"

His firefighting team left and quickly got to the Rescue Fire base

"So does he suspect anything?"

"Nope, he even apologized about having to leave and possibly taking a long time being gone, I had him leaving with the belief I was simply going to get someone to cover him until he came back"

"And do you guys have coverage?"

"Oh yeah, we cleared this with the department beforehand and they were totally for it, in fact they decided to get in on the surprise themselves Juri-san"

"Oh?"

"Yep, but you're going to have to wait until he gets here to find out what the surprise is but needless to say it's good, oh and we have the rest of the day off as well"

"What would have happened if a fire had happened before the scheduled phone call Juri-san?"

"Obuchi-san's Captain would have found a way to let us know until after the fire was taken care of"

"So this still would have happened just delayed a few hours"

"Exactly"

Finally Obuchi was at base and at the designated location and discovers all the lights off so he cautiously enters the room just in case

"Hello? Is anyone here?"

Suddenly the lights turn on and several people call out to him plus he sees a banner he wasn't expecting a banner that had words that one would think would show up sooner but for some reason hadn't for a reason that only Captain Ishiguro had known for months now

"Surprise!"

The banner itself had these words on it

Welcome back to life/Happy Birthday Obuchi

When he saw the banner Obuchi had finally understood why Ishiguro hadn't held more than a small dinner back when he was revealed to be alive

"Welcome back Obuchi-sempai, it's good to see you alive, sorry for not celebrating everything sooner"

"I understand, I completely forgot it was both my birthday and the anniversary of my sacrifice"

"Indeed and I wanted to celebrate it properly"

"Captain how long have you known about this?"

"Two months now"

"That's a long time to be setting up a surprise"

"Yeah it is but we managed"

They enjoyed the celebration for several hours before finally people had to leave because of the fact that there were jobs that needed done including Obuchi and his crew

"I'll see you guys whenever there's an emergency or during my rotation next month"

"Right, we'll see you then"

The next day Obuchi and his team covered the shift the other firefighters had covered for them and it was a pretty easy day, one visit to a school because of a fire drill and one visit to a factory because of an explosion that had been caused by improper mixing of chemicals but otherwise things were fine that day, though everyone noticed Obuchi being a bit moody. Three months went by like this and they were starting to wonder what he was doing on his days off to make him like this when finally the Captain confronted him

"Okay Obuchi, what's going on? I know it can't be about the promotion you got at the surprise party which is long over due"

"Sorry Captain I really can't explain it right now, I might later but for right now I really can't"

"Fine, if it becomes a problem let me know"

"Will do"

Suddenly the team was called out to a fire that had Extreme Disaster written all over it though that call hadn't been made yet, but Obuchi knew it would as soon as he entered the scene

"Guys I have to call my other team, this is too big for us alone"

"Right"

Obuchi brings out his Rescue Commander and calls the base which promptly responds

"Okay let's get going then"

"Right"

So they go to the site of the disaster and that's when disaster struck for the part time Rescue Force members because one of their own was trapped in the building when it exploded and despite all their efforts they couldn't find any sign of them dead or alive

"He's dead"

"No, he's being declared Missing In Action, we won't declare him dead without proof for a bit, not this time"

"But Obuchi-san was..."

"We know, but we declared him dead before without proof and he turned into Daen, then we did it again but it made sense because no one should have survived such a fall, this time we know where he was so he's not being declared dead so quickly. In time we'll have to declare him dead but not right now, for now we assume that the enemy captured him or his body to use against us"

"Understood Captain Ishiguro"

They stay at the site with his firefighting team who had informed them a while back that he'd never gotten a change to Chakusou as far as they knew until they're sure the fire is out and then leave not knowing that the one they were missing was still alive and long gone from the scene. Several hours earlier

"Okay, never want to do that again it makes me a bit groggy"

Suddenly he heard voices and stayed still in case they were fellow firefighters or Rescue Force/Rescue Fire members but it turned out to be members of the current enemy

"Come on, you know our orders let's find the Rescue Force member's body and use it against their teammates

(Thinks) " _I don't think so, you may think we don't know anything but I have been researching you guys long enough to know how you work, just you wait you'll get what's coming to you soon enough_ "

With that Obuchi slips into civilian clothing making sure that his spare sunglasses were over his eyes since his main ones were broken

"I'll be back guys, but for now Akeshi Kazuhiko must be brought back to life so that others can survive when otherwise they might not"

With that Obuchi who was now once again Akeshi left the scene of the disaster knowing that a search would be going on, a search that would not reveal anything except a few articles of clothing that wasn't proof one way or the other

"Okay, time to tell the government about the situation and then get into a job that will make them notice me, maybe as a mechanic hope the government agrees to keep things a secret from everyone once I explain myself"

Obuchi then heads to the nearest phone that he knew how to make secure and talked to the government about how Obuchi Aobi was going to be declared Missing In Action within the next few hours and that he had to reactivate Akeshi Kazuhiko to keep everyone safe and alive and that he wasn't going to go back into firefighting under that name for the moment for reasons he wasn't going to get into to keep them safe as well and they agreed easily knowing there was a reason Obuchi was being secretive about why he didn't want anyone to know he was alive, though they did make sure he had the proper prescription for his sunglasses under the Akeshi name still and he confirmed that he did. Two days later he landed a job in a factory as a mechanic as was his plan and when he explained the sunglasses his boss knew what kinds of jobs he needed and also what to do if he ever had to be a transporter. Meanwhile back at the fire station he had worked at


	11. Chapter 11

"Has anyone heard from Obuchi's Rescue Force team since the incident?"

"No, but I think they're still making arrangements"

"How long before he's declared dead?"

"That's going to be a while according to Captain Ishiguro, they don't want to make the same mistake twice"

"Understood"

"If he's not being declared dead what arrangements are being made?"

"Who's paying his apartment, what to tell the public, who's in charge and if they're getting a temporary new member who understands the situation, things like that"

"Oh"

"Yep"

Finally the part time Rescue Force team was situated and things went on like normal, but one day at the fire station a fire broke out and Obuchi's team had finally gotten a new member and the Captain did something automatically without thought

"Obu...sorry Kanzaki-san I was thinking about another person, I forgot that I no longer need to do this"

"Captain?"

"I'll explain later, for now we've got a fire to handle"

"Right"

Eventually the fire was out and as such the team went back to the fire station

"Okay Captain what's going on?"

(Sighs) "I was acting on autopilot Kanzaki-san, you see the person who was here before you needed sunglasses due to light sensitivity in regards to the sun and due to incidents back when he first started here I needed to hold onto the sunglasses and have kept them with me since including spares. He's recently been declared Missing In Action though he's most likely dead and we simply haven't found his body yet"

"So I'm just here to replace a dead person?"

"No, even if he's alive he won't be coming back to the station because the higher ups have decided he's been here long enough that it's time for a transfer whether he likes it or not"

"Did he know before the incident?"

"Yes actually, but he was also thinking about talking to the higher ups because he has a valid reason not to want to transfer, a reason I don't think they're taking into account"

Meanwhile in another part of the city was another boss about to talk to a person and knew the person wasn't going to like what was about to be said

"Akeshi, I know you're not going to like this but I need you to go to the solar plant"

"Picking up or dropping off?"

"Both actually"

"Fine, but don't expect me back any time soon"

"I already know that, but you're our only option"

"Fine"

"By the way sunglasses"

"I know"

"You dropped them when you got here and I have them"

"Oh, okay"

Akeshi gets the sunglasses from his boss and heads to the solar plant, the one location he loathed with a passion for good reason

"Boss why does he wear the sunglasses whenever he has a transport assignment and why does he hate the solar plant transport?"

"He has his reasons which I am not giving, but some of those reasons are why I never give him the solar plant assignment unless I absolutely have no other choice and unfortunately right now I don't have any other options"

"Why not?"

"It's complicated okay?"

"Fine"

Akeshi went to the solar factory and dropped off the parts they needed while grabbing the parts his job needed and then immediately left after being forced to stay at the place a little too long because he had to be _careful_ with his eyes because of how sensitive they were and as such he always took longer to handle the solar plant and even then he needed a few moments to get a handle on his vision because he may be wearing his prescription sunglasses which help but the light was focused and intensified at the plant and as such it was a very dangerous place for Akeshi but finally he arrived back at the job

"Here boss, by the way I need at least five minutes in the dark room my vision is extremely spotty right now and that's an improvement from before"

"Okay how did you get back safely?"

"Easy I simply ignored the blurriness as much as possible and that was only _after_ I stopped seeing completely white"

(Sighs) "I hate sending you to that place but unfortunately..."

"Yeah unfortunately"

Akeshi then went to the dark room and stayed there initially for five minutes and then discovered that it was not one of her better days and ultimately had to be in there for fifteen minutes before he could finish his shift

"Akeshi can you finish the shift?"

"Yes, sorry it took so long"

"I figured it might, what I don't get is just why things are so severe for you at the moment"

"That's something I don't understand myself sir but it is what it is and quite frankly I am really getting tired of the current situation I am in thanks to my eyes"

"Is there a cure?"

"No, any more surgeries and we risk eye trouble beyond what I have now"

"Understood, for now though get back to work"

"With pleasure"

Three months pass this way and eventually Rescue Force was forced to declare Obuchi dead, not because they found evidence but because they weren't being given an option by several people who were higher up in the food chain then them and Obuchi as Akeshi went to the funeral naturally wearing his sunglasses and also staying in the shadows to make sure no one noticed him

"Don't worry guys I'll be back eventually, but this enemy is stubborn I need to get on the inside and have yet to do so but once I do don't worry I will reveal myself in time"

He waits until everyone leaves and then he himself went to a grave that had been there a long time and placed a single rose there

"See you around Kiriko"

He leaves and heads back to his temporary apartment knowing that with his Obuchi identity finally being "buried" the enemy would most likely step up their plans

"Now all I have to do is get noticed by the enemy who _thinks_ no one knows what they're doing but I do, I know the truth which is making this fight last longer than most and why breaks are taken every so often. I know what I am about to do is dangerous but I must for everyone's sake even if it means my death"

Akeshi then gets sleep and continues his work when one day the place he worked at was attacked and since the fight started inside things actually went pretty well, he had already explained his knowledge of self defense to his fellow co-workers one day early in his employment when a customer got a bit out of control explaining he had been bullied and teased when he was younger and his parents decided that martial arts would be a good self esteem builder. When the fighting got outside he lasted the five minutes but then quickly put on the blindfold that was now needed

"Akeshi what are you doing?"

"Don't worry, I know how to fight blindfolded I've been practicing for a long time now for reasons you guys still don't know"

"Actually we do, remember that incident recently?"

"Oh that, okay so you do know about my eye issue, and that's why I know how, I taught myself with help how to fight like this if I ever needed to"

Eventually though Obuchi was overrun and taken captive with his enemies making sure to grab his boss who had his sunglasses that day

"Sir we've brought a good mechanic for you, however he apparently needs these sunglasses if he's going to be working out in the open sunlight"

"That's fine with me, and besides he probably won't be outside much anymore but if he does need out we'll make sure he has the sunglasses"

Then Obuchi was whipped a few times to let him know that they were in charge and that he could expect punishment at any given moment and though he didn't know it yet punishment could include being forced to be outside without his sunglasses yet still having to work

"Follow me"

"Yes sir"

Once he was left alone Obuchi began his plans to help the Rescue Force and Rescue Fire teams bring the enemy down. A little sabotage here, a little there missing parts for a little bit, tiny things that wouldn't get him noticed at first because not only was he simply testing the waters he was also being extremely cautious to keep the other hostages safe until he felt the time was right to enact his grand plan of escape and take down

"Just you guys wait you're going to regret taking me on as part of your slaves because I am Rescue Force R1, I am Daen and I have a plan that will slow you guys down from the inside out"

Obuchi kept using his Akeshi identity but he noticed he was slipping into his Daen personality more and more often as the months went by. Obuchi started off small scale but eventually upped the ante on his sabotage. The enemy punished him mainly with whipping but occasionally he would be forced to work outside without his sunglasses that he really did need. Due to the fact that his vision was compromised whenever outside he always took longer to complete work and was occasionally whipped as a result, though his captors soon learned that he _needed_ time to rest his eyes if he was to work inside afterwords so those periods of rest were the only times he wasn't being punished for not working, and while he didn't get the rest he needed to completely recover from being outside he was allowed to recover enough to the point where he was functional again. One day he had been given the eye punishment as it was called and after fifteen minutes was forced back to work


	12. Chapter 12

"Okay you've given your eyes long enough to rest back to work before we forget to feed you tonight"

Obuchi knew that they would too because while that punishment was the rarest of punishments there were occasions where they didn't feed prisoners for whatever infraction that may have really happened or been invented

"Akeshi, what did you do for the eye punishment?"

"Don't want to talk about it" (thinks) " _I'm going to have to do something tonight instead of tomorrow as I originally planned, Rescue Force is about to have another battle though they don't know it and I have to slow their enemies down somehow. I just hope I don't get caught I am really, really starting to hate the self assigned mission but since I was the only one to discover this I was the only one available, stupid Daen self deciding I didn't need help and wanting to destroy my enemies_ "

That night he was ordered to work on a few things for the enemy and he did a major sabotage job this time unlike normal. The reason it wasn't normal was because Obuchi had a routine down now that his sabotage was getting bigger and bigger each time, he would do something big either when they were going to face down Rescue Force or Rescue Fire and then keep things relatively small for a bit, or do something big at the base and not do anything to help the two teams for a bit but he had already done a major sabotage job at the base earlier that week and hadn't planned on doing anything until the next day late at night but with how big the attack on Rescue Force/Rescue Fire was expected to be he knew he had to do something that night to help the rescue teams survive

"Well all I can do now is wait and hope, it's not yet time to reveal myself but soon, very soon it will be"

Obuchi then went to sleep hoping not to catch the attention of his captors, Obuchi _knew_ that he would have to reveal himself soon because as his plans got bigger and bigger the noose was tightening on him, his nerves were _shot_ because of the self assigned mission and as such whenever he was working sometimes the sabotage wasn't even deliberate, it was him mentally exhausted wondering when he would be punished to the point of revealing his true identity. As it was he knew he would be permanently scarred because of the punishments but he also knew he would be able to keep working as a firefighter and Rescue Force member, once he was back in action. The next day his sabotage worked like a charm but unfortunately that meant everyone was watched closer than ever before and that made Obuchi's job much harder, as it was he hadn't reported in to the government in three months which was part of the deal he'd made, that to keep doing the undercover work and not have anyone know he had to make contact with the government at least once a month, and not contact through a police officer for whatever mundane reason but actual in person or by phone contact with a member of the government, police contact simply let them know he was still alive, government contact meant that he was safe, or as safe as could be in his situation if the contact loss lasted any longer he knew the truth would be revealed to his comrades in the fire department as well as Rescue Force

"Everyone you're allowed to go home for the day, tomorrow all of you have a lot of work to do so we're giving you a day of rest to prepare yourself"

Obuchi went to his temporary place and quickly made contact with the government explaining he had been forced to stay away from the apartment for three months but that he was still okay and going strong, which was a slight lie considering he currently had a shoulder injury and had extremely shot nerves being on his own and always fearing he would be discovered before he wanted to but he knew that with the time coming near he would simply have to deal with it on his own for now

"...I'll do my best to make contact sooner...bye"

Obuchi then went over to a picture that he wouldn't hide whenever he was in the apartment mainly because of the fact that there was very little risk of discovery if he was physically in the apartment

"Ishiguro, I'm coming home soon enough, I know you're going to be mad at me but I did have my reasons, but for now stay strong"

Obuchi rests for a few hours with just reading and doing other things. The last thing he did before going to bed for real was to lock up the dangerous picture once more and then the next day it was back to work sabotaging the enemy as best he could with a noose tightening around him

"Get to work before we punish you"

Obuchi continued to work and then did something when he thought no one was looking, he knew he had been getting bolder and bolder but this was the boldest yet and this time he was caught

"So we've finally found our saboteur, we knew someone was trying to take us down but we never suspected the mechanic who's practically blind when they're outside"

They beat Obuchi into unconsciousness and then put him in the Terra Resetter and had Rescue Force and Rescue Fire attack him. What they didn't know was that Obuchi wasn't unconscious as long as they thought and he had gone into Daen mode to survive which meant he was planning his escape plan as soon as he was awake and knew what was going on. The enemy themselves bragged that Rescue Force/Rescue Fire were essentially going to be his killers while they were attacking which forced them to stop the attack instantly

"Now what?"

"I have no clue, we need to stop them but not at the cost of a life"

"Okay, we need to back off and plan then"

"Right, let's hope it's a good one though"

Meanwhile Obuchi had decided to do his best to escape on his own not realizing the danger he was currently in because of his Daen mode and he actually escapes just as Rescue Fire gets inside and does their best to rescue the victim and they find Obuchi, not knowing it was him and grabbed him to help him get out seeing as how there were foot soldiers in the Terra Resetter and he was _tired_ fighting all of them by himself

"Let me go I am _not_ going to be your slaves again"

"Easy sir, we're with Rescue Fire"

Obuchi goes out of Daen mode and sees them as Rescue Fire, nods and simply allows them to help him escape his prison. Two minutes later he saw two Rescue Force teams fighting the enemy while Rescue Fire had completed the rescue

"Come on sir, let's get you out of the area"

"No, I am going to fight and I am going to take down the Terra Resetter even if it costs me several days of sleep afterwords, I owe the enemy that much"

"Sir you are a civilian and need to get to safety"

"Listen up Fire 1, my nerves are shot, I have been beaten, whipped, forced to work outside without anything to protect my eyes and almost drowned as punishments for various false infractions and my acts of sabotage once they discovered it was me for the past ten months. I am in desperate need of medical attention but first we need to do a Final Rescue on the Terra Resetter and then rescue my fellow captives which even though I am a member of Rescue Force I know I have to turn that part over to the rest of you. Now then you can either let me help willingly or I will force my way into helping, it's your choice"

"What do you mean you're a member of Rescue Force?"

"Special Rescue Force team R1 Obuchi Aobi reporting in after 13 months away, now then do you have a spare Rescue Commander or do I have to steal one from my comrades"

"Uh, just a moment"

Homura Tatsuya calls headquarters and explains that someone claiming to be presumed dead member Obuchi Aobi was the person needing rescue and that the rescue was complete and he was now asking to take part in taking down the Terra Resetter despite his injuries

"Get him back here for proof, otherwise he could simply be taking advantage of us"

Obuchi had heard that from Rescue Fire's Captain Taiga Riku and realized that seeing as how it _had_ been a long time that he would be considered dead so he said the one code phrase that only Rescue Force/Rescue Fire personnel were taught in situations like this, something that had been introduced directly after his return to life for situations like this

"Rescue Souls burn hotter than any fire known to man"

That actually made Tatsuya faint and Taiga sit down in the chair _hard_

"Okay it's you alright, you have some explaining to do later"

"I know, my Rescue Commander?"

"On the way"

"Okay for now, time to get back in the fight"

"The Daen situation?"

"Got me out of the Terra Resetter for the most part and am currently phasing in and out at the moment so the others are going to have to be careful around me"

"Understood, again the Rescue Commander is on the way"

Obuchi quickly got back in the fight and soon enough the Rescue Commander was in his hands and he was back to being R1. A few minutes later they performed a Final Rescue and then everyone went back to base to hear Obuchi tell his story

"So how are you alive after what happened that day? I know for a fact that your Captain declared you missing in action afterwords"

"I managed to survive and then heard the enemies plans and as such left the scene in civilian clothing, making contact with the government soon afterwords and they've been covering for me since, though you guys would have found out soon enough if I had remained out of contact any longer and this hadn't happened per the agreement I made with the government in regards to maintaining contact with them"

"What name did you serve while with the enemy?"

"Akeshi Kazuhiko"

"Makes sense in a way, didn't you say you kept that name in case of extenuating circumstances?"

"Yep and this was one of those situations"

"What happened Obuchi?"

(Sighs) "I went through a lot once three months had passed, that's how long the enemy took to get comfortable enough to get slaves, which still need freed by the way"

"And we'll take care of that problem, you have injuries that are serious enough to sideline you for several weeks"

"I know, now then back to the story"

 _Ten months earlier after the first beating_

"Since you are a mechanic you'll be asked to work on several pieces of equipment both inside and outside, since you apparently need sunglasses to work outside we'll make sure you have them on you when it's required but otherwise we have control over the sunglasses so turn them over now"

Obuchi wisely hands over the sunglasses not really all that surprised or hesitant due to how things worked back at home and he also knew that there was a chance that the sunglasses would be used against him as punishment but in all reality not only was he expecting that he knew how dangerous the enemy was and knew better than to fight them on any punishment given

"Now then get to work before we punish you"

Obuchi quickly starts working on the piece of machinery he was told to already making sabotage plans on the enemy that were to be used at the first opportunity that presented itself to him. Five minutes later he felt the whip and realized he was being punished either for something he had done wrong and unaware of it or for no real reason at all and he soon discovered they would always be told why they were being whipped

"You're taking too long on a simple piece of machinery, you have two minutes to fix it or the punishment will be worse"

Obuchi quickly finished the work having found the broken piece and replacing it within the time frame given

"Now then everyone is done for the night, since you're new here mister and we got you late you'll learn more about how this operation works tomorrow"

The next day Obuchi started to learn the various machines and also started his self assigned sabotage mission. Due to being part of Rescue Force and a firefighter he learned the ropes fast, one day he was doing good when all of a sudden one of the captors forced Obuchi outside without his sunglasses that he needed

"Get to work Akeshi, we want this thing fixed in two hours, and since you never showed up for kitchen duty plus did a shoddy job on a weld you're not going to get your sunglasses for this job"

Obuchi started to work and soon enough he started getting whipped for not working fast enough and this time he was also at one point forced away from the machinery and beaten pretty badly but still forced to work. Five hours later he finished and was brought back inside and told to work on a complex machine that was part of a Terra Resetter though he didn't know that yet and Obuchi wasn't working two minutes when he was stopped, and he quickly braced himself for another whipping or beating but instead was asked to stand up and turn around and face his captor

"Akeshi you are slower than ever and are actually acting like you can't see the tools"

"I can't, my vision is compromised and I need the sunglasses to work outside for any extended period of time but since I couldn't due to punishment I now can't work inside at all"

(Sighs) "OK, you get five minutes in absolute darkness to help your eyes recover but then you're back to work"

Five minutes later they discovered Akeshi's vision issue was severe enough that five minutes didn't do the trick, when he had fifteen minutes he was still having issues but they could tell he could see well enough to do the work if he was careful so they started forcing him to work and he was whipped a few times for being slow but not as much or severely as other times. This pattern would continue for the next ten months with Obuchi slowly doing more things to sabotage the enemy

"Man I am hoping I don't get discovered too soon"

Two months before his return to life he was doing a sabotage job and came extremely close to being discovered but fortunately he wasn't

"That was close"

Obuchi during this time had learned that due to shot nerves some of the problems were not deliberate but still wanted by him all the same then came the day they were allowed to go home for the first time in months and before that he got punished and it was severe enough that his shoulder was injured badly enough that he knew when he got back to his real job he would need medical treatment before being allowed on active duty and then after he got back he was discovered and beaten again and that's when he went into Daen mode to survive the escape to Terra Resetter

 _Present_


	13. Chapter 13

"And that's basically what happened to me for ten months"

"That you survived is amazing, now then we'll take care of your fellow prisoners you are staying in medical, but don't worry we'll let them know you're alive, do you want them to know your Obuchi identity or not?"

"No I don't, if I ever decide otherwise I will tell them in person"

"Understood"

"Oh you guys might want back up on this considering just how dangerous the enemy is this time, though hopefully this will send them a message and they won't take any more slaves"

"Then we'll definitely be having backup to send them the message that slavery will not be tolerated, now then time for you to have a little nap"

"Ha..."

Obuchi was given medicine to put him to sleep so that they could take care of his injuries without any unintentional fighting

"Okay now then you guys had best get going if you're going to keep the promise to him"

"How long will he be out?"

"Several hours depending on several things, for now we're simply going to see if we can pop his shoulder back into place but if not we're going to have to do surgery"

"Understood"

Five hours later Rescue Force and Rescue Fire with the help of several police officers had managed to free the slaves and deal a huge blow to the current enemy and let the former slaves know that Akeshi Kazuhiko was fine

"Where is he then?"

"He's at our base getting medical treatment, the reason behind that is because we have better means of treating his injuries then regular hospitals do"

"He's truly alive still?"

"Yes, he's truly alive still and insisted we free you guys as soon as possible"

"Thank goodness, thank you for letting us know"

"No problem"

Rescue Force and Rescue Fire then return to their base and discover that Obuchi did in fact need surgery to take care of his shoulder because it turned out that his shoulder hadn't been dislocated as the only injury when he had saved another person but for doing that he got a beating and they shattered his shoulder with pipes and as such he needed surgery not only to put his shoulder back in place but to also see what bones could be put back in position and which needed replacing with something else that acted like bone but was stronger and would allow him to return to being a firefighter after recovery

"Hopefully he'll accept that he's being transferred to another station when he finds out"

"Actually his department changed their mind about station changing, at least for now"

"But..."

"There's a reason why they're changing things from before, I was called to talk to them about something else and his transfer came up and they realized that Obuchi really does need to be at the station while they're changing several different things about how the department is now going to work and at least at a station he's familiar with he'll have people who can help stabilize him in that regards, though he really was going to be transferred soon with his promotion that we presented to him"

"That makes sense then"

Obuchi would wake up to discover the transfer that would be happening once everything was settled and he was healed up and he accepted it knowing that it would have to happen at some point. Unfortunately the transfer would never happen as planned because he got a Rescue Force mission before returning to active duty in the fire department and was killed in action for real this time. He had been involved in a major explosion and had gotten out of the building alive but seriously injured and as such needed surgery which he didn't survive. At the funeral his new team vowed to continue the work they began and that while they were going to get a new member they would never forget Obuchi, it having been decided that R2 would now be field captain until retirement. At the funeral Homura Tatsuya, Megumi Yuma, Yuki Ritsuka, Aoi Tsubasa, Watari Jun, Taiga Riku, Todoroki Hikaru, Jinrai Kyosuke, Kozuki Rei, Shiraki Juri, Ishiguro Eiji and Obuchi's new team members all saluted alongside his old coworkers at the fire department and after their day of mourning they went back to work in honor of Obuchi's choice. Over the years Rescue Force and Rescue Fire members changed as older members retired or were killed but Obuchi's story was never forgotten as a reminder of what could happen if a Rescue Soul was twisted into something that wasn't meant to be and every year on the anniversary of his actual death he was remembered for everything he had been and how he had returned to the light and died as a rescue member, during that time other members were honored as well and the mission would always be continued and everyone knew that


End file.
